About this role
Job summary
Do you want the exciting opportunity to jointly lead the paediatric team in First Dietitians? First Community Health and Care are looking for an enthusiastic and dynamic person to lead the childrens team of dietitians (3 x Band 6 dietitians and dietetic assistant support)
Join our friendly team of 19 dietitians, dietetic assistants and administrators delivering adult and childrens services across east Surrey and parts of West Sussex. The post holder will need to have excellent communication skills and clinical skills covering nutrition support, tube feeding and more complex special needs. This role will also line manage others in the paediatric team and support students.
You will support the team to continue to deliver excellent patient care based on the needs of the local community. The post holder will be supported by the service lead to jointly formulate the operational delivery plans and strategic direction of the service in line with First Communitys objectives. This is a great opportunity to jointly lead and develop the childrens dietetic service with a friendly, supportive and innovative team of dietitians.
AI: You may choose to use AI during your application for structuring your answers, but it should not replace your real experience, skills or voice. Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you and we will explore your examples further at interview, so its important your application genuinely represents what you bring.
Main duties of the job
You will manage a caseload of complex HEF patients, providing specialist nutritional assessment, support, and ongoing monitoring in the community setting. You will have regular general clinics and clinics in special schools.
You will work as a part of a friendly, patient focused multiagency team (including community paediatricians, acute paediatricians, community nurses, SLT, school nurses, health visitors etc) and have regular liaison with tertiary centres, special schools and social care.
You will have children under safeguarding plans and be a part of the core groups and multiagency support networks managing these cases.
We run different parent education groups for conditions such as complex feeding/ARFID and cows milk protein allergy that you will be involved in delivering.
You will line manage a Band 6 paediatric dietitian and/or Dietetic Assistant offering supervision and guidance as needed.
The dietetic team undertakes regular student placements from different universities, and they all spend some time in the paediatric team.
Reviewing and developing the service to meet the needs of the local population and in line with the service objectives.
Skilled Worker Sponsorship is not available for all vacancies. Decisions regarding this will be based on capacity, allocations available, funding arrangements & immigration requirements. If sponsorship cannot be provided for a vacancy, applicants who require sponsorship to undertake the role may not be shortlisted.
About us
First Community is a staff-owned social enterprise, rated Good by the CQC, providing NHS community services across east Surrey and parts of West Sussex. We are looking for people who share our values: First-rate care, First-rate people, First-rate value.
Recognised as one of the country's leading community healthcare employers in the 2025 NHS Staff Survey, First Community offers a supportive workplace where everyone has a voice and opportunities to develop their full potential.
We offer
NHS terms and conditions, excellent training and development, flexible working, NHS pension, flexible retirement options, and a range of employee benefits.
If you need flexibility, please talk to us when you apply or at interview. We will consider all requests carefully and accommodate them where possible, depending on the role.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, including Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, and candidates with disabilities. We are committed to fair recruitment, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments.
Sustainability is central to our work as we support the NHS Net Zero ambition.
To stay safe online, only use our website to find and apply for jobs, and only trust recruitment communications from our published contact details. Any job advert, recruitment communication or offer can be verified through the contact details on our website.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder is responsible for the nutrition and dietetic management of community paediatric clients under the care of the First Community Health & Cares Dietitian services. The service covers Crawley, Horsham and east Surrey areas.
The post holder will provide a specialist dietetic service to a caseload of children including those with complex special needs and those receiving enteral tube feeding. The caseload may have varied, unpredictable and complex health needs.
The post holder will be required to use specialist dietetic skills and knowledge: assessing, planning, implementing treatment and delivering dietetic interventions to children and advise their carers in a variety of settings including clinics, special schools or at home.
This role is one of an expert practitioner who works autonomously, but also involves joint liaison with other professionals involved with the child and their families both within the health sector and other agencies.
Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification document attached for full details.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Minimum 4 years post graduate clinical experience with appropriate experience in paediatric dietetics at a senior level.
- Relevant post graduate training in paediatric dietetics.
- Understanding the importance of effective multi-disciplinary working.
- Experience in training / teaching other health professionals.
- Experience in giving guidance and advice to families and carers of children with complex special needs.
Desirable
- Experience of supervising Dietetic students
- Experience of supporting child protection cases, and attending case conferences and core groups
Skills
Essential
- Ability to work effectively autonomously and as part of a team with excellent communication, liaison, negotiation and influencing skills
- Ability to assess and treat children and evaluate dietetic intervention across a range of clinical needs
- Ability to prioritise workload unsupervised
- IT competency
- Good organisational and time management skills
- Ability to deliver presentations and training as required
- Ability to remain calm under pressure and flexible to the needs of the service
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of a variety of paediatric neurological / developmental conditions
- Demonstrates consolidated clinical dietetic knowledge and skills in the specified field of paediatric dietetics
- Demonstrates good knowledge of, and ability to apply, evidence base in relation to dietetic practice
- Show understanding of value of audit within clinical practice.
- Demonstrates good knowledge of all aspects of enteral feeding in children
Other Requirements
Essential
- Willingness to participate in continuous professional development
- Is motivated to take responsibility for own actions and promotes good team working practice appropriately
- Treats others with courtesy and respect at all times
- Excellent interpersonal qualities
- Access to a car/car owner/full UK drivers licence
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council
- Degree/Postgraduate Diploma in Dietetics
Desirable
- To have commenced post graduate dietetic study
- Member of the BDA and the BDA paediatric group
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
First Community Health and Care
Address
Crawley Hospital
West Green Drive
Crawley
RH11 7DH
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.firstcommunityhealthcare.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)